Nobel Laureate Tawakkol Karman Donates Half-Million Dollar Prize Money

Tawakkol Karman, the Yemeni activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, has decided to give all her $500,000 prize money to the victims of the Yemeni revolution. Karman believes that the fund will have best use in helping the wounded people and the families of those who were killed in Yemen’s uprising that took place from January 2011 to February 2012.

First Arab woman laureate

Karman, 34, is the first Arab Nobel laureate. As an activist, she was greatly involved in the protests against Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s deposed president. She said she was in a demonstration at Sanaa, capital of Yemen, when she was bestowed the prize by the Nobel Prize awarding body. During that time, Saleh was still the sitting president although facing protests from the people.

Worthy endeavor

Donating her prize money, according to Karman in a statement Monday, is a worthy endeavor and duty on her part to the young people who sacrificed in order to achieve change for Yemen. She said the freedom, justice, equality and new governance that Yemen is now benefiting from are due to the committed struggles of Yemenis who dedicated themselves to free the nation from the bondage of Saleh’s regime. Karman is giving away her prize money to the Air Fund for Families of Martyrs and Wounded in the Peaceful Revolution. President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi founded this institution.

Three women awardees

The Yemeni laureate was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2011 along with two other women. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Leymah Gbowee, Liberian social worker and peace champion also received the peace award. The Nobel committee said the three women laureates were commended for conducting peaceful campaigns for upholding women’s welfare and rights to take part in peace advocacy work. Karman was picked for her major role in seeking women’s rights and democracy and peace for her country. She leads the Women Journalists Without Chains, a group crusading for press freedom.

Prize donation

Incidentally, Karman is not the only Nobel Prize winner to donate her cash award. In 2009, US President Barack Obama gave his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize award to charity. Meanwhile, the European Union, 2012 peace awardee also said it would allot its prize money and increase it twofold with its own funds for children’s protection and education in war-torn areas.

President Hadi in power

Ali Abdullah Saleh, president of Yemen for more than 33 years was called upon by the Yemenis to step down and relinquish his power through series of demonstrations. Initial protests were directed against the nation’s poor economy, unemployment, corruption and proposal by the government to amend the constitution of Yemen. Later the protesters demanded President Saleh to step down from the presidency. Defections from the military and Saleh’s people in the government followed, resulting to the government’s loss of control. Saleh agreed to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council agreement in November 2011 allowing his vice president to take over the presidency. In January 2012 Saleh was given immunity from prosecution and flew to the United States for medical reasons. Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, his deputy, sat as the nation’s new leader on February 27, 2012.

Photo Credit: Nobel Laureate Tawakkol Karman